2021 March - Pro Football Rumors

Steelers Grant Steven Nelson Permission To Seek Trade

March 19th, 2021 at 12:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers have granted Steven Nelson permission to seek a trade, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Nelson, 28, has been starting for the Steelers for the last two years.

Nelson isn’t a household name, but the advanced metrics have been fond of his work. Between the last two years combined, Pro Football Focus has him tied as the eleventh-best cornerback in the NFL. Meanwhile, the last year of his three-year, $22.5MM deal is set to count for $14.4MM on the Steelers’ cap. It stands to reason that Nelson would draw trade interest, given his reasonable his base salary of $8.25MM. Still, there are other quality cornerbacks available on the open market, including All-Pro Kyle Fuller.

After watching Mike Hilton leave for the Bengals, the Steelers re-upped corner Cameron Sutton on a two-year deal. Without Nelson, the Steelers’ CB group would be headlined Joe Haden, Sutton, and 2019 third-round pick Justin Layne, who hasn’t seen much playing time.

Steelers Re-Sign JuJu Smith-Schuster

March 19th, 2021 at 12:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers are bringing JuJu Smith-Schuster back on a one-year deal, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The wide receiver will earn just $8MM on the team-friendly pact (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). And Pittsburgh is playing around with the structure of the deal in order to minimize the 2021 salary cap impact. Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Smith-Schuster’s deal includes a $7MM signing bonus and a $1MM salary, and the team is adding four voidable years so that the cap hit this season is just $1.6MM (Twitter link).

Smith-Schuster could have made more elsewhere, as Taylor Bisciotti of NFL.com tweets. The Chiefs offered him a one-year deal with the same base salary of $8MM, plus $3MM in incentives. The Ravens made an even stronger pitch — $9MM plus $4MM in incentives. Ultimately, Smith-Schuster opted to give the Steelers a home team discount.

“At the end of the day, I want to have my legacy in Pittsburgh and retire there,” Smith-Schuster said in February. “I don’t want to leave…I’m Pittsburgh for life.”

Smith-Schuster’s production tailed off over the last two seasons, putting top-of-the-market money out of his reach. Still, he drew widespread interest. In addition to the aforementioned Ravens and Chiefs, the Jets and Raiders were also connected to the youngster. The Jets wound up signing Corey Davis to a three-year, $37.5MM deal. It’s not clear if they offered a similar deal to Smith-Schuster, or if the wide receiver had interest in joining a non-contender.

Smith-Schuster, still only 24, had just 831 receiving yards last year, but there’s reason to believe that he could get back to his old form with Ben Roethlisberger back under center.

As a rookie, Smith-Schuster caught 58 passes for 917 yards and seven touchdowns in just 14 games. In 2018, Smith-Schuster eclipsed then-teammate Antonio Brown with 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven scores en route to his first ever Pro Bowl nod. He’ll look to reprise those numbers on his new deal in 2021.

Bears Want To Pair Kenny Golladay With Allen Robinson

March 19th, 2021 at 11:45am CST by Zachary Links

It’s not an either-or, apparently. The Bears are pursuing Kenny Golladay with the intention of also keeping Allen Robinson, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune hears.

The Bears franchise tagged Robinson earlier this month, but some have speculated about a tag-and-trade scenario — or a rescinding of the tag — with Golladay taking his place. But, the Bears want both receivers. With Robinson locked in for $18MM this year, they’ll need some cooperation from the Lions’ free agent. That could be easier said than done. The Bears are sticking to a one-year offer for $11-$12MM. Golladay, meanwhile, wants roughly $18.5MM per year, according to PFT’s Mike Florio.

An $18.5MM AAV would still be less than top-of-the-market money for wide receivers. Currently, Cardinals star DeAndre Hopkins leads the pack with $27.25MM per annum. After that, it’s Julio Jones ($22MM), Keenan Allen ($20.025MM), Amari Cooper ($20MM), and Michael Thomas ($19.25MM) rounding out the top five. Golladay’s asking price would position him sixth among all WRs, just ahead of Odell Beckham Jr.’s $18MM AAV.

Robinson, heading into his age-28 season, quickly signed his tender after news of Golladay’s Bears visit leaked out. Coming off his third 1,000-yard campaign, he probably didn’t envision a scenario in which both he and Golladay would wind up in Chicago, catching passes from new quarterback Andy Dalton,

Broncos, Justin Simmons Agree To Extension

March 19th, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos and Justin Simmons have agreed to terms on a long-term deal, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). It’ll be a four-year, $61MM deal with $35MM guaranteed, as Benjamin Allbright of KOA tweets. ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link) has also confirmed those figures.

The structure of the contract is pretty straightforward. Per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), Simmons will take home a $15MM signing bonus, and his $2MM 2021 salary and $14.1MM 2022 salary are guaranteed at signing. He is due a $14.4MM salary in 2023, $2.9MM of which is guaranteed for injury at signing. All $14.4MM will become fully guaranteed if he is on the roster on the fifth day of the 2022 league year.

Simmons was tagged for the second-straight time this year, giving the two sides until mid-July to hammer out a multi-year agreement. There’s been strong mutual interest throughout the process, so it’s not a surprise to hear that they’re on the cusp of a fresh pact.

“Justin is one of our core guys. Our goal is to sign him to a long-term deal,” new GM George Paton said recently, with Simmons echoing that sentiment.

Since Simmons received an $11.4MM tag last year, his 2021 price currently sits at $13.7MM — a 20% hike. There are five safeties averaging at least $14MM on their respective long-term contracts, establishing a clear floor for Simmons. The Broncos already have plenty invested at safety, with Kareem Jackson entering the final year of an $11MM-AAV pact, but Simmons is squarely in his prime at 27. He is also coming off his first Pro Bowl season — during which he intercepted a career-high five passes and played every defensive snap for a third straight year. Jackson will be 33 next season.

The sides were not able to complete an extension before the 2020 summer deadline, but Simmons has since proved that he deserves top-five safety money. It’s a tremendous outcome for Simmons, of course, but his shiny new deal also bodes well for other top safeties looking for new contracts. Seahawks star Jamal Adams, for example, can now shoot for the moon in his next round of negotiations.

Bengals Release Geno Atkins

March 19th, 2021 at 10:47am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals released defensive tackle Geno Atkins, head coach Zac Taylor announced. Atkins was due $12.2MM in non-guaranteed money, so the Bengals took the opportunity to wipe that from the books. In addition, the Bengals are also cutting quarterback Ryan Finley and offensive tackle Bobby Hart (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). All together, the moves will save the Bengals roughly $30MM in cap space.

Atkins fought through a shoulder injury throughout the season. Towards the end, it proved to be too much to play with. He suited up for just eight games in total, and, even when he was healthy, he wasn’t happy about his playing time. His final tally: zero sacks and zero starts. It was a sharp drop from his pre-extension season in 2017, when he finished out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked interior defender. The Bengals could have had the perennial Pro Bowler under contract through 2022, but his $14.8MM cap hit for 2021 was too much.

Last year, he watched his longtime counterpart Carlos Dunlap — the No. 1 all-time Bengals sack leader — get shipped to the Seahawks. It’s now the 33-year-old’s turn to exit. He leaves with eight Pro Bowls to his credit and the second-highest sack total in franchise history.

Hart, whose release will yield ~$6MM in savings, was long rumored to be a cap casualty. And, with Riley Reiff in the mix, his services were no longer needed.

Ravens Interested In Kenny Golladay

March 19th, 2021 at 9:39am CST by Zachary Links

Kenny Golladay is still on the market, but things could be heating up. The Ravens have reached out to the Lions’ free agent receiver, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Hamstring and hip injuries limited Golladay to just five games last year. But, in 2019, Golladay averaged an NFL-high 18.3 yards per catch, and that was without Matthew Stafford in the lineup for much of that season.

The Bears met with Golladay on Wednesday night, despite having deployed the franchise tag on Allen Robinson. The standout wide receiver also talked to the Giants, though it’s not clear if head coach Joe Judge is on board given Golladay’s clashes with coaches in Detroit. The Bengals were said to have submitted an offer recently too, but things have been oddly quiet for one of this year’s top free agents.

The Ravens’ offense is largely anchored by the ground game, but Golladay would give Lamar Jackson & Co. a bonafide deep threat. Even if Jackson isn’t the most accurate passer in the league, Golladay has the wingspan and catch radius to make up for it.

Of course, it’s possible that these talks were more exploratory than anything. It would behoove Golladay’s camp to play up the Baltimore talk – perhaps in an effort to eek more money out of the Giants.

Texans To Sign P Cam Johnston

March 19th, 2021 at 9:08am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have signed former Eagles punter Cameron Johnston, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Johnson’s three-year deal is worth $8MM in total and includes a $1MM signing bonus.

The Eagles opted against giving Johnston a restricted free agent tender this offseason, putting him on the open market this week. The first right of refusal tender would have cost just $2.133MM for the 2021 season. His new Texans deal tops that by a healthy margin on an average annual basis.

Johnston will replace fellow veteran Bryan Anger, who was released by the Texans on Thursday. He’ll look to rebound from a rough year — in 2020, he posted a career-low 41.2 net-yard average. The Eagles could now turn to future/reserve signee Arryn Siposs as his replacement.

Bengals To Sign Riley Reiff

March 19th, 2021 at 8:58am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals have agreed to sign former Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff, as Jay Morrison of The Athletic tweets. Terms of the deal are not yet known.

Reiff has never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but he’s been a solid starter for much of his career. The move to Cincinnati could force a change of positions — Jonah Williams is set to start at left tackle, so Reiff could wind up on the opposite side. He could also be kicked to the interior, which was rumored to be the plan at various times in Minnesota.

The Bengals started free agency with a defensive spending spree, but they’re also looking to fortify the front five. Reiff may help to keep Joe Burrow upright and healthy after his devastating ACL/MCL injury in 2020. There’s still more work to be done in that area — fortunately, the Bengals have plenty of draft capital to bolster the OL.

Colts To Sign DE Isaac Rochell

March 19th, 2021 at 8:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have agreed to sign Isaac Rochell (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). It’s a one-year, $2.5MM deal for the former Chargers defensive end that can reach $3MM via incentives.

Rochell, 26 in April, had a solid season for the Bolts, starting six games in place of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram while compiling 29 tackles and 2.5 sacks. His best season to date came in 2018 as a reserve. That year, he recorded a career-high five sacks and six tackles for loss. Still, the Chargers opted against cuffing him as a restricted free agent.

The tender would have paid Rochell less than his new Colts deal. Even at the right of first refusal rate, Rochell would have been looking at a $2.13MM salary. Ultimately, Rochell fell up. Now, he’ll look to build on his 9.5 career sacks in Indianapolis.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/19/21

March 19th, 2021 at 8:40am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Washington Football Team

Signed: C Tyler Larsen